By: David,
Fletcher,NC
Already have a Coleman 5day Xtreme Cooler. Want to come out of a International ProStar into a Cascada.
Thank you for this blog, I have been trying to get this type of info and just happened on to your site. God Bless you both.
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Response from Vicki:
Hi, David,
Thank you for asking a question on our site and for your compliment.
In some of the trucks we have driven, there is a floor level “hole” in the cabinet behind the driver’s seat that will accommodate an ice chest of moderate size. Depending on the size of a “big” ice chest, it may not fit in this space.
In the last truck that Mike drove for Epes Transport, the cabinet behind the driver’s seat had no such hole. Furthermore, the storage area behind the passenger seat did not allow for stowing a cooler either.
If you have a portable toilet on the floor in the corner made by the lower bunk and the storage cabinet behind the passenger seat — as we did — then putting the cooler there is also not an option.
If you don’t have a passenger, one option is to put the ice chest in the passenger seat (assuming it will fit). Perhaps the seat belt can be positioned around the ice chest on the seat to keep it in place. Of course, if you drive during the day, the sun shining in may melt the ice in the chest more quickly.
What Mike ended up doing was putting the cooler on the lower bunk and securing it to the wall with a rubber tie-down or bungee cord (or two) hooked from the cooler to the air vent. It was a bit awkward, but we knew it would work better than rounding a curve too sharply, having the cooler tip over and winding up with a bed full of water, ice and perishable food!
Please be careful about lifting and maneuvering any size ice chest inside your truck. You don’t want to risk an injury. If necessary, “dip” water out of the cooler so that it is lighter to move. What Mike did most often to drain off the water from our cooler was move it to the driver’s seat while the door was open, open the drain cover and let the water pour out on the ground.
As you may know, ice can be purchased at truck stops but it can be very expensive. We ended up buying a portable ice maker — putting it between the passenger seat and the dash — and making ice with water dispensed at water vending machines. Making ice ourselves was much cheaper in the long run than buying ice by the bag at any truck stop.
Of course, there are ice vending machines that provide bagged or bulk ice that may provide competitively priced ice. Compare and save.
I wish you great success in storing your ice chest in your truck, packing food to eat on the road so as to save money. An ice chest is one of the meal preparation items we list on our website that truckers can use to save money on food on the road.
When you decide where to store your ice chest in your truck, would you please comment below and share what you did with our readers? Thanks in advance.
Mike and I wish you safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.
Best regards,
Vicki Simons
